Swap for Good

The Swap for Good is a clothing exchange with the goal of building awareness and support for the SCCAP Homelessness Department and serving our local community, while also providing a more economic and environmentally friendly alternative to buying new clothes for students and staff.

The Center for Sustainability and Santa Clara Community Action Program (SCCAP) are working together to bring this clothing exchange for students, staff, and faculty of Santa Clara University. We seek to serve the needs of local community organizations, such as the women and children of the local Home Safe shelters in Santa Clara and San Jose who would benefit from the collection of women and children’s clothing, and Hope Services. We hope to bring greater awareness and build support for SCCAP Homelessness Department's programs which Santa Clara students already consistently volunteer for, as well as provide donations for their programs in a sustainable fashion—and with little cost for all parties involved. Participants may trade unwanted clothing (formal dresses, men’s, women’s, and children’s) and other items (sport equipment, children’s books, shoes, socks) in exchange for other clothing and items swapped by others on-campus.

It's a grassroots non-profit project that encourages people across the country to host clothing swaps and ask for donations to raise money for local domestic violence shelters. At SCU, we hope to expand the reach of the Swap for Good by serving additional local community organizations that our students, staff, and faculty care about, such as supporting environmental justice adovacy groups, supplying donations for a non-profit that works with adults who have developmental disabilities, offering fun opportunities for LGBTQA youth, and boosting the share economy on our campus.

You can drop off clothing, shoes, and accessories in marked bins in the lobbies of all residence halls. Donations in high-need will be distributed to local community organizations and then sorted and organized in the Benson Parlors and the Swap for Good "store" will be open for a few days for everybody to swap and shop for free - give something old-to-you and find something new-to-you!! We also encourage you to donate more than you take.

The Swap for Good "store" is open every year for a few days in May. This year it is on May 15-17th in Benson Parlors B & C.

Students, staff, faculty, and community members are welcome to shop in the Benson for “new-to-you” items from the collaborative collection of clothing and other items from the Santa Clara community. The Swap for Good will be open and staffed by volunteers from SCCAP, the Retail Studies Student Association, and the Center for Sustainability and there will be music and some information about the clothing and textile industry so you can learn more about the organizations and the issues the Swap for Good is serving and supporting.

Home SafeHome Safe is a part of a larger umbrella organization called Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence. Santa Clara University has a very close relationship with both Home Safe shelters in San Jose and Santa Clara, which is very close to our campus. As victims of domestic violence and homelessness, the women and children of Home Safe are allowed to stay in the shelter for three years or more as they transition into a new life and attain a more stable economic situation. The shelter offers a multitude of support including job training, resume reviews, and even poetry classes. Many Santa Clara students help with the child care programs that Home Safe offers, allowing women time for themselves to benefit from other Home Safe programs.

Hope ServicesHOPE Services delivers a range of employment and job training programs, developmental activities, professional counseling, children's services (age 0-3), senior services, community living services and mobility training for over 2,500 children, adults and seniors. Hope Services will collect donation items to be resold at their HOPE Station store in Fremont (39418 Fremont Blvd), or at the chain of Savers thrift stores throughout California. Proceeds from the HOPE Station Store directly benefits HOPE clients with job training, job placement and independent living services.

Project Open HandProject Open Hand supports people with terminal illness by delivering dinners to them and helping spread awareness about life in the tenderloin. Project Open Hand is also involved in planning and participating in AIDS walks and other educational on-campus events.